At first, Ash felt nothing.
Just the warmth of her hand, the crackling of the fire, his own heartbeat.
Then... something else.
A tingling sensation, like static electricity just beneath his skin.
It started at his core, where Lilith's hand rested, then spread outward in waves.
He could feel it flowing through his body in patterns, channels, pathways, rivers of energy that connected everything.
"Good," Lilith murmured.
"You're feeling your own mana now. The energy that sustains you, that powers your enhanced strength. Now, reach beyond yourself."
Ash pushed his awareness outward.
The sensation intensified.
He could feel the mana in the air around him, thick and heavy like humidity before a storm.
He felt it in the trees, slow and steady like a sleeping giant's heartbeat.
He felt it in the earth beneath him, vast and ancient and patient.
And he felt Lilith.
Her mana was overwhelming, a bonfire compared to his candle, burning with intensity that made everything else seem dim by comparison.
But more than that, it was... alive. Aware. Watching him with the same predatory interest as her physical gaze.
"This is Mana Perception," Lilith said, removing her hand from his chest.
"The foundation of all magic. If you cannot sense mana, you cannot manipulate it."
Ash opened his eyes. The world looked so different to him now.
He could still see the physical, the trees, the fire, Lilith's perfect features.
But overlaid on top of that was another layer. Currents of energy flowing through everything, visible now that he knew how to look.
"Practice this," Lilith continued. "Maintain your perception. Feel how the mana moves, how it responds to intent. That's your first lesson."
"What about gathering mana?" Ash asked. "Increasing my reserves?"
Lilith's smile turned playful.
"Already thinking about power. I like that." She shifted closer, their bodies nearly touching now.
"Mana naturally replenishes through rest and absorption from your environment. But if you want to accelerate that..."
She placed her hand on his chest again, but this time he felt something flow from her touch.
Pure mana, vast and potent, pouring into him like water filling a vessel.
His mana pool expanded, stretched, and accommodated the influx.
It was overwhelming, too much, too fast, like trying to drink from a fire hose.
Then it stopped. Lilith pulled her hand away, leaving him gasping.
"That's one method," she said with amusement.
"Though I don't recommend trying it with anyone less... generous than me. Most attempts at mana transfer between incompatible sources end in explosions."
Ash's breathing steadied. He checked his status.
[MANA: 10000/10000]
His mana capacity went from C-rank to A-rank almost immediately.
He could feel it, the capacity had increased almost tenfold, his pool deeper than before.
"The other method," Lilith continued,
"is meditation. Draw mana from your surroundings, pull it into yourself, compress it, make it yours. It's slow. It takes years to master. But effective."
"Show me," Ash replied.
Lilith's expression shifted to something approving.
She gestured at the space around them.
"Feel the ambient mana. All that energy is just floating in the air, on the earth. Now, imagine it flowing toward you. Not forced, invited. Drawn to your core like water flowing downhill."
Ash tried. He could feel the ambient mana now, thick and present.
He reached for it with his awareness, trying to pull it inward.
Nothing happened.
He tried again. Still nothing.
"Don't force it," Lilith observed. "Magic isn't about domination, well, not always."
She smiled, then continued "It's about harmony. The mana wants to flow, wants to find balance. You just need to create the right conditions."
She demonstrated.
Ash watched with his Mana Perception as energy from the environment flowed into her, drawn by some quality he couldn't quite identify.
It wasn't pull or push, it was more like she became a focal point, and the mana naturally gravitated toward her.
He tried to mimic the technique.
This time, he felt it. Just a trickle, barely noticeable.
But mana from the air around him began flowing inward, adding to his reserves drop by drop.
"There," Lilith said with satisfaction.
"You'll lose it when you stop concentrating, but that's normal. With practice, it'll become automatic. Your body will gather mana constantly, even while you sleep."
Ash maintained his focus, feeling that tiny trickle of energy. It was exhausting, requiring total concentration.
But it was working.
"You learn quickly," Lilith observed, studying him with those ruby eyes.
"Most people take weeks to achieve Mana Perception, even years for some. You managed it in minutes."
"Luck runs in the Sinclair family," Ash replied, not breaking his concentration.
"Oh, I can see that." Lilith's voice dropped to something lower, more intimate.
"Tell me, little summoner, what motivates you so desperately? What drives you to push yourself like this?"
Ash was quiet for a moment, still maintaining the mana flow. "Strength to protect people I cherish."
"Noble," Lilith said, though her tone suggested she found nobility amusing.
"But also... naive. You can't save everyone, Ash. No matter how strong you become."
"I know." His voice was steady.
"But I can try. And I can make sure I'm strong enough that when people die, it's not because I was too weak to make a difference"
Ash paused, his eyes narrowing as he maintained the delicate trickle of mana absorption. "What about your world? How does mana work over there?"
Lilith was silent for a long moment, studying him with an expression he couldn't quite read.
Then she smiled, not her usual predatory grin, but something softer. Almost... approving.
"You asked earlier about my world," she said, shifting the subject. "About where I come from."
Ash's concentration wavered slightly, but he maintained the mana flow. "Yeah. What's it like?"
"Vast. Ancient. Beautiful and terrible in equal measure."
Lilith's gaze turned distant, looking at something beyond the forest.
"My realm exists beyond your dimension, a place where mana is so thick it becomes solid, where reality bends to the will of those strong enough to command it."
"Demons," Ash said.
"Yes. Though we don't call ourselves that. In our language, we're the Aeternum, the Eternal Ones. Beings who've transcended mortality through the accumulation and mastery of mana."
"How are you ranked?" Ash asked. "What makes a demon strong?"
Lilith's smile returned, pleased by his curiosity.
"Mana. Pure and simple. In my world, power is measured by how much mana you can contain, how efficiently you can manipulate it, and how completely you understand its fundamental nature."
She gestured at the bonfire, making the flames dance.
"Lesser demons might have a few thousand mana. Mid-tier, tens of thousands. High-tier like myself..."
The flames erupted, shooting fifty feet into the air before condensing back down.
"Well. Let's just say my reserves would make your head spin."
"And the Demon Kings?" Ash asked, thinking of Moros.
"Ah." Lilith's expression turned serious. "The Kings are different.
They're not just powerful; they're conceptual. Each King embodies a fundamental aspect of existence. Moros is Death itself given form.
His mana isn't just vast, it's absolute within his domain. When Death commands, reality obeys."
She leaned closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. "That's what you summoned, little Ash. That's what you bound yourself to.
An entity so far beyond normal comprehension that even I, a Queen in my own right, would hesitate to oppose him directly."
Ash's mana flow faltered, his concentration breaking. "And you?"
"Chaos." Lilith's smile was sharp now, dangerous. "I am disorder, unpredictability, the force that breaks stagnation and destroys comfortable patterns.
Where Moros ends things, I transform them." Her hand traced along his jawline, intimate and possessive. "I make things... interesting."
Their faces were close now, close enough that Ash could feel her breath, see the flecks of deeper crimson in her ruby eyes.
The bonfire crackled between them, casting dancing shadows across her perfect features.
"So," Lilith murmured, her lips barely an inch from his. "Let's discuss our contract."